Icons Disappeared from Taskbar Windows 10

Icons on the taskbar in the notification area are very convenient and useful. They provide you with information about miscellaneous system information (network connection, volume level, OneDrive sync, Bluetooth status, etc.) and third-party apps. That icons that disappeared from taskbar Windows 10 can cause some serious inconveniences. Missed messages, important system notifications and many other. If you suddenly realized that icons disappeared from taskbar on Windows 10, this simple guide will tell you how to bring them back.

Windows 10 Taskbar Icons Missing: How to Bring Them Back?

First, make sure the app you are trying to bring back is up and running. If it does not work, the icon won’t appear on the taskbar. Simply run the application and see whether the icon is back or not.

You should also check the Startup tab in Task Manager. If there are disabled apps, which are necessary for your work, enable them by clicking Enable button in the right corner.

Disabled apps inside the Startup tab won’t run until you manually run them, thus icons won’t appear on the taskbar. Next time your machine boots, apps will start automatically, and icons will appear on the taskbar if they are configured to do so.

Second, check apps settings. Many apps allow configuring notification tray icon behavior. For example, disable or enable icon or change how it works and what it shows. These settings may vary depending on an app you are using. That is why we can’t provide you with an instruction how to enable taskbar icon for every app. Just for example, here is the settings page in ShareX (a very convenient tool we use to make screenshots for our articles).

Notice a Show tray icon toggle. If you disable it, an icon will disappear from the taskbar. Look for something similar within the settings of your app and make sure this option is enabled.

For your information: some apps do not allow a user to change this setting. If there is no such a toggle, move on to the next part.

Third, digging system settings. If nothing above worked or you need to bring back missing system icons, then you should mess around with a Windows’ settings.

Right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings option.

There is an alternative way to open this section. Press Win + I and head to the Personalization > Taskbar.

Scroll a little bit down and locate Notification Area section.

Click Select which icon appears on the taskbar link.

You will see a separate window with a complete list of the apps that support displaying the icon on the taskbar. Turn on the app you can’t find on the taskbar and it will return to the place where it should be. If you don’t want to see some app in the right corner of the screen, disable it in the list. It won’t disappear permanently. Windows will create a separate hidden list you can access by pressing arrow up on the taskbar. And yes, you can manually rearrange this list by dragging icons on or off.

Return and click Turn system icons on or off link.

This section allows you to bring back system icons that for some reason disappeared from the taskbar or vice-versa.

For your information: some icons disappear from the taskbar due to errors inside the drivers. For example, if battery icon is missing on Windows 10 laptop, there probably something wrong with battery controller or driver.

That’s it. Now all icons that disappeared from taskbar Windows 10 should be back on theirs place.